Jungle Fury: Touched by Darkness
by Pixiescale1185
Summary: Phoenix Delgado has been a student at the Pai Zhuq Academy for just a year when the evil spirit of Dai Shi is released. She and three others are chosen to protect the world from his wrath but how can she save the world when she is touched by darkness and destined to destroy it?
1. The Fourth Guardian Pt 1

A/N Just a quick note, for anyone who reads this and was interested in my The Fourth Guardian Story for now it is going to stay on Hiatus but I will in the future be editing it and once that is done I will start posting new chapters. I need to rethink the OC in that story when I get time and then I can get back into that story as well as this one.

Jungle Fury: Touched by Darkness

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers or any plots that I may use from the show; I do however own Phoenix and her history as she is my own creation. It's not my sandbox; I just like playing in it.

Chapter 1: The Fourth Guardian Pt. 1

Phoenix and five other students were sat on the hard stones of the main training arena where they had stay for the last 24 hours. Master Mao had told them to sit in silent meditation so they would be mentally prepared for the final part of the test. He was looking for three students to be the next trio is guardians and it is something they have been training for. Phoenix had only been at the Academy for a year but because of her previous training she quickly rose through the ranks of cub but even she had been surprised to be here at the final stage. She was deep in meditation when a gong sounded signalling the final stage was about to start. Phoenix stretched as she stood up working the slight stiffness from her muscles.

"Theo, did my butt get up with me? I can't tell I'm numb." The girl on the other end said as they bowed to Master Mao.

"You are the six finalists. I am only looking for three," with that Master Mao clapped his hands and the six teens paired off.

Theo was against Amber, Lily against Justin and Phoenix was paired with Jarrod. They bowed to their opponent before taking their individual stances based on their animal spirits.

"Begin" called Master Mao.

Phoenix aimed a kick at Jarrod but he blocked and knocked it aside while taking a swipe at her but she twisted her body slightly avoiding it. She turned and tried to aim a blow on his chest but again he blocked it. The pair continued to spar and in the background she heard two roars as Theo and Lily defeated their opponents leaving just her and Jarrod. She frowned slightly and began to watch Jarrod even closer looking for an opening or a way to catch him off guard, but she could not find one so she started to feint a weakness and Jarrod fell for it moving in for an attack but she turned as he aimed his kick and swiped his foot from under him. She moved her hands summoning her spirit and was surrounded by a silver mist before her spirit took form and pinned Jarrod to the ground. Once her spirit had faded she offered him a hand up but he knocked it aside.

"Phoenix, Theo, Lily, join us in the great hall this evening," instructed Master Mao.

She heard Theo and Lily cheer and offer each other congratulations while Phoenix looked over to Jarrod who was clearly angry about his defeat. She turned and heading towards where some Cubs were standing with towels and water. She was reaching for a cup when she sensed someone behind her but before she could turn around the person had pushed her to the ground. She turned to see Jarrod standing over her and he smirked before turning his anger towards one of the cubs.

"Where is my towel? Go, get me a towel. Move it! "That is a direct order from a senior student," shouted Jarrod.

Phoenix pushed herself up and laid her hand on Jarrod's shoulder.

"Hey Jarrod leave him alone, don't take your annoyance of losing to me out on that poor Cub. If you have a problem deal with it, don't take it out on an innocent person."

Jarrod turned shooting her a look of hatred and knocked her to the ground he stood over at her snickering when she heard someone shout out.

"Hey, look out."

The cub ran over to her and knelt down beside her before looking up at Jarrod who just laughed.

"Oh! Is little Cub going to do something?" Jarrod jeered.

The cub stared at Jarrod before he roared leaning closer to Jarrod and Phoenix saw the image of a white tiger appear as he growled and the force of the growl knocked Jarrod backwards.

"What did I just do?" the cub whispered looking at his hands. He looked back up at Jarrod "I'm sorry, I don't know what happened." he tried to explain.

Jarrod moved closer but Master Mao had been watching and he clapped his hands and Jarrod stopped in his tracks and bowed to Master Mao.

Later that evening Lily, Theo, Phoenix and the cub from earlier where sat outside the hall waiting for Master Mao to arrive and Lily and Theo were discussing the presence of the cub. Phoenix left them to it and walked over to where the cub was sitting. He noticed her and flicked a glance at her before lowering his head.

"Sorry am I in your way?" he asked.

"No, it is ok. I just wanted to thank you for earlier, protecting me from Jarrod."

"Oh, um...you're welcome...," he trailed off as Master Mao arrived and led them into a hidden room underneath the Academy.

"This is so cool." breathed Lily. "Where are we?"

"It is called the Forbidden Room," explained Master Mao.

"Forbidden? That does not sound good," said Casey.

"Jarrod has been dismissed, in your hearts you know why," said Master Mao as Lily and Theo glanced over at Casey who lowered his head slightly.

"Casey, you have the heart to stand up for others and have the potential to be a Tiger Master. I have decided to choose you as well as Phoenix, Lily and Theo."

Casey gasped in shock and the others looked over at him and Phoenix smiled.

"Listen closely, over 10,000 years ago, there was a great Evil named Dai Shi. He believed that animals should rule the planet and humans were to be erased. Brave warriors channelled their animal spirits and after a great battle they were able to capture the Dai Shi inside this box." He turned and was carrying a stone box. He thrust his left hand forward causing his sleeve to fall revealing a mark on his inner arm.

"The Phi Zhuq, Order of the Claw was formed to train students in Kung Fu and to serve as protectors, if the Dai Shi were ever to escape. You four have been selected to take on that task." Master Mao finished.

"Yeah, well that evil hasn't escaped, so all's good and look, I've just been here a week and there must be someone better who can..."

Jarrod enter the room and interrupted him.

"I've spent 10 years in training! You just can't kick me out for no reason!" he shouted.

"Agreed, but I have a reason." Said Master Mao

He turned and was about to set the box on the slab behind him when Jarrod attacked him from behind. Master Mao turned and blocked Jarrod attacks with his free hand. Jarrod tried to grab for the box but Master Mao turned away and knocked him back slightly. The four teens stood in shock unsure how to react as Jarrod continued to fight Master Mao. Phoenix gasped as Master Mao kicked Jarrod and used the force of the kick to flip backwards and continued to block Jarrod's attacks before using two fingers he knocked Jarrod back.

"Now Go," he ordered.

"Yes," Jarrod hissed as he bowed and turned to leave Master Mao turned back to return the box on the slab when Jarrod stopped and turned summoning his animal spirit which attacked Master Mao knocking him to the ground and the box flew out of his hands.

"NO!" cried Lily and Phoenix as they watched the box roll and the clasp open as the box came to a stop and the lid opened and a cloud of dust drifted out of the box.

The five teens sighed in relief as for a moment nothing happened, and then the room exploded with sound as an orange fiery mist flew out of the box knocking all of them into different corners of the room.

"At last!" called a voice from in the mist. "And now, my old friend, I have thought of no one else for centuries, but before I destroy you, you will be a witness to my destruction of those dear to you."

"Who's he talking about?" asked Theo.

"That'd be us!" said Lily nervously.

The four protectors rose to their feet and moved together ready to try to fight off Dai Shi. As they watched the image of a dragon with fiery orange eyes appeared in the mist and its eyes seemed to settle on Phoenix.

"Ah, Oblivion, I have been waiting for you," the voice said still staring at Phoenix.

"NO!" shouted Master Mao as he start to head toward the group of teens.

"Yes Mao," said the spirit and it grabbed Master Mao and lifted him into the air.

It squeezed him and there was a loud noise before Master Mao was thrown against the stone slab and lay gasping for breath. Suddenly the mist rushed at her and Phoenix stiffed as it entered her body. She could hear Dai Shi in her mind telling her to give herself up to the darkness but she was resisting his power. She was too pure for him to remain and the spirit was forced out of her body again.

"Mao is defeated, you are not worth my time," said the voice.

It then flew towards them and the group scattered as it flew past them and out the door. The four teens looked after the fleeing spirit before turning to where Master Mao was laying.

"Master," cried Theo.

"My time in this form has ended. Shed no tears, there are important things to do. The Evil that is Dai Shi will return to where he was captured. You must destroy him." Master Mao paused and reached into his robe removing a sealed envelope and handed it to Theo. "Go to this address in Ocean's Bluff, there you will meet your new master."

"We don't want a new Master," Lily said tearfully. Phoenix laid a hand on her shoulder in comfort.

Although she did not show it she was sad to hear this as well. She learned quickly to hide her true feelings and to never get too attached to people because either they left her or she had to leave them.

"Remember the first rule I told you, don't be attached to the Master, but to the lesson. Now go." Master Mao said.

"Wait, I'm not your guy. I can't destroy evil; I haven't even mastered handing out towels." argued Casey.

"Listen to me, all of you. Your four are the world only chance," and with that Master Mao faded into dust.

"Master Mao," Whispered Phoenix.

~~Firestarter~~

"A Pizza Parlour? This can't be the place." said Theo.

The four teens enter the pizza parlour and looked around the room. It was a bustling place, with upbeat music playing softly. The aroma of tomatoes, Italian seasons and pungent Basil filled the air and the room was pleasantly warm from the heat of the open fire ovens that were built into the far stone wall. There were loads of people inside and they started to scan the room for their master but they had no idea what or who they were looking for. Theo looked behind Lily and spotted an elderly man. He tapped Lily and pointed in the man's direction.

"That must be him."

The four of them walked over to the man and bowed. The man looked up and nodded, they took that as a sign of acknowledgement.

"We're here, I'm Theo, this is Lily, Phoenix and this is..." he paused as he pointed to Casey. "This is someone who is in way over his head." Theo finished.

Phoenix nudged Theo. "Don't be mean, Master Mao chose him for a reason." She whispered.

"We're from the Phi Zhuq School. We are ready to take on evil and defeat it. You have our total obedience. We're eager to learn everything you have to teach us, Master." said Lily enthusiastically.

"Yes treat us to your words of wisdom," finished Theo with a bow. Lily and Casey followed suit.

The man looked them over for a moment then looked beyond them and raised a hand.

"Check please," he called.

Phoenix snickered softly. "Ok wrong guy," she said.

They turned and began to look around again when there was an explosion from the kitchen and a younger man stumbled out. His clothes were covered in flour and other toppings and he had the doughy pizza base covering most of his face.

"Whoa, Intense." The guy said as the pulled the bits of dough off his face. "so much for my Mt. Kilimanjaro pizza experiment. He set the uncooked dough on the counter next to him and then he noticed the kids standing in front of him.

"Whoa, new customers, Welcome to Jungle Karma Pizza, the names RJ." He said as he handed them menus. Lily, Phoenix and Casey took them but Theo shook his head.

"No, no, no. we're not customers."

We're looking for...our Master," Lily finished with a whisper.

"Aren't we all?" teased RJ

"I say we go," said Theo and he headed to the door.

Lily, Casey and Phoenix stared after him before looking down at the menus in their hands.

"I'm hungry," said Casey.

"Me too." agreed the girls.

Theo paused and turned around as RJ led them to a table and they sat down and Theo reluctantly came to join them. Phoenix smiled and they debated for a while on what kind of pizza to order each person had different ideas when RJ settled the problem by bring out a pizza with different toppings to suit each person.

"So how's the pizza?" RJ asked when the teens had almost finished.

"Yeah, yeah it is amazing, but that's not why we came here." Theo said flicking a look to the others.

"Right, you are looking for your master. If you're supposed to meet him here then I suggest you wait, you can work here until he shows up." Said RJ

"Work here? No, No. we don't work for anyone, right guys?" Theo asked.

"Okay" said RJ as he raised his hands and backed off leaving them to talk.

"Theo, we are in the real world now, there are things to get, things to have. We need money to do that. Now I am not going to spend another day in these pyjamas," said Lily sharply.

"OK fine," Theo sighed. "I'll be a manger or something reasonable, but ONLY until out master arrives not a day more."

Just then they could hear some kind of commotion outside and people started screaming. Phoenix flicked a look at RJ she could tell there was something more to him then he was letting on. He saw her watching him and he looked away and started looking around the room avoiding her gaze. She then flicker the others a look and Theo dropped the slice of pizza he had been holding and pushed back form the table.

"Come on guys we better check this out," said Lily

"Um, yeah, well maybe I should just stay here until I get my bearings," said Casey nervously.

"Hey, if you are going to be a part of this team now it the time," said Theo as he grabbed Casey's shirt and half dragged him to the door. The ran outside and followed the screams when they could hear another noise mixed in with the screaming and when they arrived they were meet by a strange group of beings.

"What are those things?" asked Casey.

"My guess...friends of Dai Shi." said Lily.

"Let do it," said Theo.

They charged at the beings and Lily grabbed one that was attacking a woman in a car and she pulled it away freeing the woman in the car. She then turned and faced a small group of them. Theo took one another group in his usual manners knocking them back with loud cries. He knocked one down by elbowing it is the chest. Casey was knocking his own group round as best as he could while Phoenix took on her group. She could tell they were seriously outnumbered by these things but she fought them off kicking and punching them away. However things started to go badly for them as they had never been in a fight this intense and they began to tire and the beings took advantage of this. Casey was the first to be thrown over a car he rolled off the front of the car and hit the ground hard.

Lily was being knocked around by the group she had been fighting and she was being pushed between the beings until she feel to the ground. Theo was fairing a bit better until two of them grabbed Theo from behind and threw him into another group. He rolled on his hands to avoid getting hit or kicked and he finally reached a clear spot and stood up but another one grabbed him and threw him to the ground again.

"Time for my true form," said one of the beings. It was different from the others. This one was red and white and had a strange symbol on its head. It cried out the head disappeared into its body and the body swelled until the front split and it was green and looked similar to a praying mantis. Only his head was more humanlike with sharp spikes for hair.

"Now for some real destruction." It said as it finished its transformation.

Theo and Casey were still trying to fight off a few of the beings when Theo and Casey were both knocked back and bumped into each other when the monster jumped and landed in front of where the pair were standing.

"Look what crawled from under a rock," sneered Theo.

"Pound for pound, humans are no match for a bug," the creature said as it raised its claw and hit the ground which caused the ground between the two boys to spilt and sent then flying in different directions and they fell hard onto the ground. The monster approached the boys ready to finish them off when they heard a shout.

"Hey!"

The boys looked over and saw Lily taunting the monster while Phoenix moved in behind it and kicked it away from the boys. Lily and Phoenix attacked the monster and for a short while they held their own Suddenly Lily got a bit too close and it grabbed her and threw her over where the boys were still lying on the ground. Phoenix fended off the monster for a while but she did not last long on her own and the monster grabbed her left wrist and twisted it and her around before kicking her hard in the back and she flew in the air and landed almost on top of Casey.

"Ow, Sorry." She said as she rolled off Casey.

The four teens slowly made their way to their knees Theo was helping Lily and Casey held out a hand for Phoenix as she moved up onto her knees. She held her arm close to her body and rubbed her aching wrist.

Now to finish you little pests," it said as it walked towards them laughing.

Suddenly out of now where RJ appeared and he walking to them and stood between them and the monster.

"Whoa...dude...step back." RJ said calmly to the monster before turning slightly to look at the teens on the ground. "I think it's time for you first lesson. You can't judge a book by its cover." He pulled up his right sleeve slightly revealing the same mark that Master Mao had, the mark of the Order of the Claw.

RJ ran through a few stances of his animal spirit which Phoenix recognised as that of the wolf before the monster sent a group of the beings to attack him. He fought the creatures easily then drawing upon the energy of his animal spirit he formed a ball of energy which he threw at the monster. It exploded and was knocked back into its weaker form.

"I'll get you," it called as it ran away.

RJ turned to face the teens as they rose to their feet and walked towards him.

"You're him...you're our master." said Casey excitedly as they bowed to him.

"Uh um...just call me RJ. Now my students the real journey begins." He said before turning and heading back to the pizza parlour and the four teens followed him smiling and whispering to each other.

As they walked through the door they were greeted by a girl they have noticed earlier and then they noticed the restaurant was now quiet.

"Where was everyone? The door was open and people were waiting and so I ended up taking orders and making pizzas, and I took the money and put it in the cash register, and I cleaned and turned off the ovens and..."

"Fran, remember to breathe Fran." RJ interrupted.

"Oh yeah," she said.

"Fran, this is Phoenix, Theo, Lily and Casey. Fran is our best costumer. She's here every day." Said RJ

"Oh well It's not like I have nothing else to do. I do. I just love pizza, all the toppings and the smell and the taste. I like spaghetti as well, the sauce, the meatballs..." she continued

"Uh, Breathe Fran, we'll see you tomorrow," said RJ gently leading her to the door.

Once Fran was gone and RJ had locked the front door behind her he led the four teens through the kitchen and up the stairs into the room that was above the restaurant. There was a gym area including basketball court and nets, an area for relaxing and sleeping and for to one side there were several TV sets and a lone chair in front of them.

"Whoa, look at the size of it," remark Theo.

"Wow, this place is great, "said Casey as he picked up the basketball as he passed.

"Check it out," breathed Lily as she spotted the juke box. She went over and pressed a button and music filled the room as she started dancing.

"It's nice, but it needs a clean," said Theo running a finger over one of the TV sets.

"Thanks for volunteering Theo," said RJ jokingly.

"Mi casa es tu casa," said RJ. Phoenix smiled slightly. Hearing that made her feel homesick and miss her father. It had been years since she saw him last.

"Huh?" asked Theo.

"My home is your home," Phoenix translated before RJ could answer.

"You know Spanish?" RJ asked in surprise.

"Fluently, I lived in Spain with my father for a year and my mother was Spanish." She explained.

"This is where you'll be living, training, playing and working. Everything is yours..." Lily had been looking at the TVs when RJ spotted her about to sit in the chair. "Except that chair, My chair. It's mine, off-limits, got it?

"OK," the four teens said together.

OK, next order of business is to get you out of those pyjamas." RJ said as he passed them each a set of clothes. Casey's were red lined with black and he had black pants to match, Theo's were blue also lined with black and Lily's were yellow lined with black and she had a black skirt. Phoenix's were silver in color and lined with black and a black skirt to match.

"Hey new training gear, gotta love that," said Casey shaking his out.

Lily tapped Phoenix on the shoulder and pointed to all the TVs in the room

"Look at all those TVs. I haven't watch TV in years."

"TVs, no these are much, much more; it's a state-of-the-art city wide monitoring system, plus 1,253 cable channels. Pretty cool, huh?" said RJ

Theo glanced at the screens when one come on showing the things from earlier that day were back in the city.

"Looks like our friends are up to no good," he remarked

"Lets get them," said Phoenix ready for another fight and they headed for the stairs but they stopped when they noticed RJ was not with them.

"Come on RJ," Theo called.

"Uh, no, no, I have a pizza store to run. Fighting evil is your job, but I did notice you were a little overpowered last time, so I've got a gift for you to even out the odds." He said opening a drawer to reveal what appeared to be sunglasses.

"Sunglasses?" questioned Lily

"They're not just sunglasses, they're solar morphers. You ever hear of the Power Rangers?

"Yeah who hasn't." said Casey

"Well guess what? You...Be...Them," RJ finished

"No way, Ever since I was a little kid, I always wanted to be..." Theo started excitedly looking between the other three than his face turned serious again. "...if that's what it takes."

"The Power Rangers aren't part of the Order of the Claw but I figured we needed everything we could get to fight the Dai Shi. I knew this guy who knew this other guy, who had an uncle who had a connection...anyway he tapped into the morphing grid and...Voila. Your morphers, once you activate them, all the knowledge that comes with them will be instantaneously entered into your cellular makeup. Pretty gnarly, huh?" he finished as he handed them glasses which matched the color of their new gear. "Now go out there and beat evil, and now you will look good doing it."

The four teens rushed up the stairs and out the doors into the city where they had seen the beings. When they got there they noticed the beings had been joined by other monster.

"Oh look...Humans" it said as the approached.

"I don't know about you three but I think it's time to show them what we got," said Theo grinning.

Lily, Theo and Phoenix stepped forward and pulled their morphers out of the handy pocket at their hips and put them on.

"Ready! Jungle Beast Spirit Unleased!" they called together.

This call brought forth their animal spirits and when they finished Theo was dressed in blue with Six spots on his helmet lined in black and the sides of his uniform where black with white lines creating stripe like boxes on his sides and on his chest there was the mark of the Order of the Claw. Lily's uniform was yellow and black and on her helmet there was a black line down the center with three black spots either side of the line. Phoenix's uniform was silver lined with black and on her helmet there were what looked to be black and silver wings.

"With the speed of a cheetah, Jungle Fury, Yellow Ranger," she called.

"With the stealth of a jaguar, Jungle Fury, Blue Ranger," Theo called.

"With the flames of a phoenix, Jungle Fury, Silver Ranger," Phoenix called.

The three rangers rushed forward as a group of Rinshi ran forward towards them.

"Oh wow, that's Awesome!" said Casey in awe. "It's my turn now."

He pulled out his morpher and copied what the others had done.

"Spirit Unleased," he called but nothing happened. He tried again but for some reason he could not morph. Lily noticed he had not morphed and called to him.

"Come on Casey, join the party!"

Casey tried again but still nothing happened. He took off the glasses and shook them, put them back on, tried again but still nothing. He looked around and saw Lily was doing well against her group of Rinshi and heard her call out.

"Call to the beast inside, Bring out the cheetah!" there was a yellow blur and most of the Rinshi she was fighting disappeared.

Phoenix seemed to be enjoying herself as she fought of her group of Rinshi. She kicked one back knocking three down at once and grabbed one flipping it over her shoulder. She then also called on her animal spirit. "Call to the beast inside release the Phoenix. There was a silver blur and the rest of her group vanished.

Casey again took off his glasses and looked them over try to figure out why he was not morphing like he had seen the others do when he heard a woman screaming he looked over to see that the others were busy with more Rinshi so he rushed over to where he had heard the scream come from. He saw the monster from earlier was terrorising Fran and was about to rush forward to help when he was grabbed by a group of Rinshi.

To Be Continued...


	2. The Fourth Guardian Pt 2

A/N A special thanks goes out to xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx, Red Ranger 2.0 for their great reviews, INSECTgrl, MarishkaTheUnderdog for following my story and NightmareOnElmStreetFan for adding my story to your list of favourite stories and finally, Redder45 and summer490 for the follow and adding my story to your lists of favourite stories. I hope you all continue to enjoy this story.

Jungle Fury: Touched by Darkness

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers or any plots that I may use from the show; I do however own Phoenix and her history as she is my own creation. It's not my sandbox; I just like playing in it.

Chapter 2: The Fourth Guardian Pt. 2

Casey continued to struggle against the hands of the being that were holding back, while Fran continued to cry out in fear. He was getting frustrated and growled softly as first but it grew into a roar like when Jarrod had pushed Phoenix down. He started to feel a power from deep within himself grow and once again his animal spirit surfaced. He felt a new found strength and he threw back the three beings that he been holding him with ease before knocking one more back as he once again tried to morph.

"Jungle Beast...Spirit...Unleash." There was a flash of red light and when it faded Casey was morphed.

"With the strength of a tiger Jungle Fury, Red Ranger." He finished.

The monster that had been holding Fran suddenly threw her and Casey jumped catching her in mid-air and dropping gently to the ground.

"Get out the way, I'll take it from here," he told her as he set her down. She nodded before running away.

Casey turned to face the monster as it ran towards him. He charged up his spirit and pushed the power down his arm and punched the monster sending it flying back crashing through a crumbled wall. The monster jumped back over the wall and started walking back towards Casey as it aimed its claws and shot a ball of energy at him.

"You'll pay for that," it called at him

Casey jumped up avoiding the ball.

"I'll pay in full," Casey called back as he launched himself at the monster.

Casey and the monster fought for some time and Phoenix heard him use his animal spirit to shock the monster before he finally called on his spirit which took form and defeated the monster. Phoenix, Lily and Theo watched as the beings they had been fighting disappeared and they ran to Casey's side.

"I did it! I can control the power," Casey exclaimed looking at his hands.

"I knew you could do it," said Lily

"Gotta admit, you are one tough tiger," said Theo.

The three other rangers just finished congratulating Casey when there was a rumbling noise and the monster rose from the rubble.

"You think you have destroyed me? I'll show you what real power is!" it mocked as it stood up. "I've gathered peoples fear and it makes me stronger...It makes me grow." It said as it grew to a giant size before the ranger's eyes.

"Run!" shouted Lily as she turned and ran.

Casey flicked a looked behind him as he ran and saw the monster strike the ground where they had stood a moment ago. The monster tried to hit them again but missed as the rangers continued to run. The monster hit the ground again this time right behind them and the four fell to the ground right in front of the monster.

"NO!" they screamed as the monster was about to strike them.

Suddenly out of nowhere a spirit appeared and hit the monster knocking it back. The rangers stood up and saw the ghostly figure of Master Mao fighting against the monster.

"Go Master Mao," called Theo.

Master Mao knocked the monster far away then floated down to where the rangers were standing.

"It is not safe for you here," the heard him said as he surrounded the rangers before taking them away from the scene to a nearby rooftop.

Once he set the rangers down the rangers powered down and removed the glasses. Master Mao's spirit changed and took on its human form.

"Master Mao, I thought you were gone forever," said Casey

"The spirit of a Phi Zhuq master can never be destroyed. My body no longer exists on this Earth, but I will be watching over you," he explained.

OK, that answers my first question," said Casey. "Now can you explain how that Mantis grew to the size of Dodgers Stadium?"

"It is an advanced level of battle technique; your enemies have mastered it. Now you must fight them on that level," Master Mao told them

"We'd be happy to except for one little thing, you never taught us how," said Lily

"You have a new master, he must teach you now," he told them before his spirit faded away.

The rangers found their way from off the roof and headed back to Jungle Karma Pizza. Phoenix wandered slightly behind the others lost in thought. Seeing Master Mao again had brought up old memories that Phoenix had been pushing aside since she was a kid, she was thinking about the day her mother left. To this day she never understood why her mother had left. She felt a warm tear start to run down her face and she brushed it away in anger she would not allow herself to feel sadness over it. 'Feelings only get in the way.' She thought to herself as she buried those thoughts deep within herself.

The four teens enter the pizza parlor but RJ was nowhere to be found and they rushed out back and up the stairs where they saw RJ sitting.

"RJ you won't believe what happened..."Lily and Theo said together.

"It was crazy..." Casey interrupted.

"He just came out of nowhere..."

The four teens were all talking at once and RJ lost his balance and fell backwards he could not make sense of what was being said and he held up a hand to silence them.

"Okay, now everybody take a deep cleansing breath and then tell me what happened, calmly," Said RJ

The rangers took a deep breath and then all started talking at once again.

"Wait," RJ said as he pointed to Casey.

"Master Mao came back...Started Casey

"...and saved us from a giant mantis..." continued Lily.

"...now he wants you to teach us..." said Theo.

"...how to fight these ginormous monsters," finished Casey.

"Heavy...But you're not ready for the growing ginormous technique. Sorry Rangers, no way," said RJ and he started to walk away.

"Come on, RJ, we don't have a chance if we don't learn the growing technique," said Casey.

"Once you all master your assigned weapons, then we'll talk." said RJ as he turned and reached for one of the weapons.

"Theo," he said as he handed Theo his weapon.

"Tonfas, no sweat, I learned these bad boys my second year," said Theo

RJ turned and grabbed a bow staff and handed it to Lily.

"Sweet, I'm a pro with a bow." She said as she twirled the bow in her hands.

RJ grabbed a wooden katana and turned to Phoenix, she bowed slightly as she took it off RJ. The handle of the blade was wrapped with silver and black leather and Phoenix felt the exact balance in the sword. She ran a hand over the smooth black wood. There were symbols carved into the smooth wooden. She backed away from the others before wield the katana. The others watched as she swung the blade faster and faster. She looked towards Casey and he saw staring at her in awe. She smiled and felt herself start to blush. RJ cleared his throat and Casey turned to face him.

"And for Casey the ancient and, if I may say, highly dangerous nunchaku," said RJ handing them to Casey.

Casey held them away from him as he turned around before he attempted to use them. Things went ok for a minute then he tried to go faster but ended up hitting himself on the arm. He winced and rubbed his arm. Phoenix raised her eyebrows at him and gave him a questioning look.

"Ow, alright I admit it, I've never used these before," said Casey still holding his arm.

"Those are only supposed to be used by trained Kung Fu students," said Phoenix.

"Sorry, but until you are all up to speed, you can't get to the next level," explained RJ.

"Man, just because Casey's a cub, doesn't mean we should be held back in our training," moaned Theo.

"Hey, it's not Casey's fault he was chosen. I am sure he did not ask for this and he did an honorable thing protecting me from Jarred, which is why he was chosen," said Phoenix glaring at Theo.

"I don't mean to sound harsh, but that's just the way it is," said Theo sitting down on a chair.

RJ studied him for a moment before he spoke

"Theo, a team is a lot like...a stool. You are the legs, all equal. What happens if all the parts aren't equal?" he asked.

Phoenix suddenly knew where this was going and when no one answered he turned and aimed a kick at one of the legs breaking it, making the stool uneven and it collapsed. Casey and Phoenix laughed seeing Theo on the floor.

"That's right. The team falls on it butt. If the teams not ready then none of you are ready. Namaste," said RJ bowing slightly before he walked away.

Phoenix followed RJ back down to the restaurant and went to the front to help serve customers while RJ worked the register and talked to Fran.

"Fran, you're here every day I've got to ask, don't you have a crew, you know, friends you like to hang out with?"

"Well books are my friends so I guess you could say I have a big crew," Fran said with a laugh.

"Okay, what about family?"

"Well, no brothers or sister and my parents are always kinda busy,"

"Huh," said RJ before a customer came up to the counter.

Phoenix smiled as she walked past carrying a tray full of dishes back into the kitchen and saw Casey tossing pizza dough like he had been doing it for a long time.

"Hey, check out Casey, when it comes to tossing pizza the guys a genius, but he is all thumbs when it comes to handling his own weapon," said Theo.

"Give him a break Theo, he is just starting out. Need I remind you that not too long ago, you were a cub too. "

"Yeah I know that Lily, but that's my poi..."

"Yeah but, nothing, remember when you first started out? You didn't always have mad skills," explained Lily.

"Yeah but I practiced hard and got good, you've gotta give me props for that."

"True but before you could practice someone had to teach you."

"I learned from the best," Theo responded with a smile.

"Too bad Casey doesn't have someone amazing like that to teach him."

"Lil, do you ever get tired of being right?" Theo sighed

"Not so far," she replied.

Just then RJ rang a small bell.

"Everyone to their stations the 12:32 lunch rush is about to..." A large group of people entered the restaurant as he spoke.

"Sorry boss, Casey and I have some serious training to do," said Theo taking off his apron and grabbing hold of Casey.

"Ah wait, who is going to help me serve all these people?" RJ asked looking out at the busy restaurant.

"Me!" said Fran jumping off her seat.

"OK...?" said RJ reaching a hand out for Casey apron and handing it to Fran.

Theo and Casey rushed through the back while Fran tied on the apron and starting seating customers. She was nervous at first but soon settled into her job and the restaurant started to run smoothly again. Lily made the pizzas while Phoenix took the orders and gave them to RJ shouting out what pizzas she needed to Lily and RJ ran the cash register. The line seemed to go on for a long time but finally the last of the customers left the store and the three of them started to clean up the store before the next group of customers arrived and Lily and Phoenix headed upstairs for a short break. They had just sat down when the alarm started sounded and RJ rushed into the room.

"Lily, Phoenix head to the plaza and I will contact Theo and Casey and have them meet you there," ordered RJ.

The two girls nodded and used the vines to exit out of the back room. They ran towards the Plaza and were met by Casey and Theo just as they arrived.

"The streets of the whole city are flooding," said Lily.

"Watch out!" cried Phoenix as the water got closer to them.

They jumped on the roof of an abandoned car and scaled the building to the roof.

"That was too close," said Theo, clearly relieved.

Casey heard a thud behind them and he tapped Phoenix before they both turned around to see the Mantis that had been fighting earlier was back and still huge.

"Giant Mantis alert," Casey cried.

The rest of them turned around to see the Mantis swipe at a building reducing it to rubble before moving on.

"How are we supposed to stop that?" asked Phoenix.

They ran around the side of the roof when they were stopped by another large group of Rinshi and a woman.

"Not this time, rangers," the woman said using her abnormally long tongue to make them back up.

"I'm Camille and I'm here to make sure you don't get in the way. Special orders from Dai Shi. "She told them with a smirk.

"A chameleon? So, you can change your appearance at will...and that's the look you're going with?" asked Phoenix mockingly.

"Huh, funny," sneered Camille. "We'll see who gets the last laugh."

He four teens looked to each other before morphing into their ranger forms

"Jungle Beast, Spirit Unleased." They called together.

"With the strength of a tiger, Jungle Fury, Red Ranger."

"With the stealth of a jaguar, Jungle Fury, Blue Ranger.

"With the speed of a cheetah, Jungle Fury, Yellow Ranger."

"With the flames of a phoenix, Jungle Fury, Silver Ranger."

"Pretty colors," commented Camille. "Now keep them busy while Mantor cleans out the city," She finished with a snap of her fingers.

The Rinshi moved in to the rangers as they split up to fight them. Phoenix back flipped over a group kicking one as she landed knocking it to the ground. She turned and hit another in the chest knocking it into a third before the y both fell. Casey ran forward and met a group blocking a blow from the nearest and flipping it over him, turning to face another. A Rinshi tried to stab his with its spear but he grabbed it and kicked another spear aside. He rolled one the back of one kicking another away. Lily did a series of back flips landing in the middle of a group before she turned and sweep kicked a Rinshi. She grabbed the spear of one pulling it down while she stood back up. Theo grabbed the spear of one and used it to block another two before pushing the first away. He then summoned his primary weapons.

"Jungle Tonfa!"

He used them to block and trapped the Rinshi's spears. He then supercharged them blasted a couple of Rinshi away. He continued to fight but the Rinshi attacked him together and he ended up blocking all of the spears at once. He super charged his Tonfas again turned hitting several Rinshi at once.

"All yours Lil," He said.

"Jungle Bo" she called.

She used the Bo to keep the Rinshi at a distance and to block another of them that tried to get close. She than attacked them one at a time and they tried to block her in but she pushed them back using her Bo before she super charged it and swing in a circle hitting them all.

Phoenix called for her primary weapon

"Jungle Katana!" she used the sheath to blow several blows and the blade to swipe at any Rinshi that got too close to her. Realizing they were trying to surround her she hit one in the chest and it doubled over. She flipped over it and supercharged her blade and swung it left and right hitting any Rinshi in its path.

"My turn! Jungle chucks," Casey called.

He swung the chuck over his back and Shoulders just like Theo had taught him to and used them to black blows and trapped the spear of a Rinshi and used it to block another blow. He swung the chuck keeping the Rinshi at bay.

"Time to channel my animal spirit" he cried.

He paused for a moment and reached deep inside of himself and feel the power begin to flow into his hands. He then swung the nun chucks moving faster and faster creating a wall of flames before he released the energy and the Rinshi exploded as it touched them.

"Hey, Bug breath, your next," called Casey but the monster just roared and swung its claw at the building and Casey had to roll away to avoid being hit.

"Casey, you ok?" asked Phoenix.

"Yeah but we'll never be able to beat that thing down here."

"If only we knew that growing technique," said Theo.

Just then their communicators sounded and RJ's spoke to them.

"Rangers listen up; it's time to go big..."

"But we don't know how," interrupted Theo.

"Sure you do, you just don't know that you know how." RJ continued.

"What?" Phoenix and Lily asked together.

"The stool...I mean the team is in balance now," finished RJ.

"I think I get it," said Theo. "Lily, you are the heart of the team,"

Theo you bring the brains..." said Casey

"Casey, you bring the strength," said Lily.

"And, Phoenix is a bit of everything, she brings balance to the team." Casey finished.

"Excellent, you're ready for the next level. Combine your animal spirits and see what happens." RJ told them.

"We can combine them?" questioned Lily.

"We can do it, guy. I know we can," said Casey.

"Animal spirits unite as one!" they called together.

"Jungle Fury, Beast Spirit Mode!"

The spirit beast attacked the monster knocking it to the ground giving them time to form the Megazord.

"Animal Spirits unite," Casey called.

Lily's and Theo's spirits folded up and formed the legs of the Zord while Phoenix's split in two and folded to become the arms of the Zord. Casey's folded and became the body and head joining onto Lily's and Theo's before Phoenix's Zord joined them forming a completed Megazord.

"Jungle Pride Megazord."

Hmm...big deal, with my added power Mantor will shred them to bits." Camille said.

Then she started choking and out came a little fly.

"Are you kidding? They have achieved the level of Jungle Pride Megazord. That won't be easy to beat," it said.

"Flit, you little pest, how did you get out?" asked Camille.

"And the fight is on," said Flit. "The Jungle Pride is tough but we've got one mad Mantor."

As they watched the rangers had gotten the feel of controlling the Zord and they blocked a kick from the monster and punched it hard in the chest.

"Oh, that's gonna leave a mark," Flit commentated. "Got him on the ropes..."

The Megazord and Mantor continued to fight and Mantor tried to grab it from behind but they elbowed Mantor in the ribs knocking him back before they kicked him and spun kicking him again.

"Oh, a backhand, he didn't see that coming. Nice! These rangers have got some moves."

It seems your Mantor is taking a beating," he said to Camille.

"And so will you, if you don't shut your fly trap," she snapped back.

"Ooh touchy, touchy."

"Now back to the action. Mantor is going crazy, swinging wildly. The rangers are on the back foot." Flit continued to commentate as Mantor began to overpower the rangers.

Mantor was about to claw the Zord but the rangers flipped out of his reach landing on the roof of a building.

"Oh, strong move but the rangers flip out of danger. What a spectacular move."

The rangers jumped off the roof and over the head of Mantor. Once they landed they sweep kicked the feet from under Mantor.

"What a comeback for the rangers. I can't believe my eyes, and I've got hundreds of them."

"Jungle Sanjiegun," the rangers called together.

"What's this? The rangers are busting out the Kung Fu gear." announced Flit.

"Casey, use it just like your Jungle Chucks," Theo said.

"All over it," replied Casey.

"Oh, the powerful Sanjiegun, that's got to give them an edge. Let's watch," said Flit.

The Zord swung the Sanjiegun and used it to block a blow from Mantor, and they hit Mantor right in the chest.

"Ooh, the Mantor takes one right in the Thorax," moaned Flit.

"Savage Spin!" the rangers called and the top of the Zord began to spin wildly.

"I can't believe it, these kids know the Savage Spin," cried Flit.

As they watched the Megazord continued to spin faster and faster until it passed right through Mantor who cracked before exploding.

"Boom, the Rangers win!" cheered Flit. "What an incredible performance from these young newcomers."

The rangers returned to Jungle Karma Pizza to find the place a mess and RJ with Fran's help trying to get it clean before the next wave of customers was due to arrive. Phoenix and Lily started helping clear tables while Casey and Theo went into the kitchen to start preparing the bases for pizzas. Lily looked over and saw Casey trying to teach Theo how to toss dough like he could. Lily tapped RJ then Phoenix and pointed them out.

"I am glad those two got it together," said Phoenix.

"You know, Camille and her army aren't going to let up," said Lily.

"Well, it is not her I am worried about. It's Dai Shi," said RJ.


End file.
